March 15, 2021, by Dr. Sherry Cooper Statistics Canada released the February 2021 Labour Force Survey showing much stronger-than-expected job growth. Employment rose by 259,200 (1.4%) in February, after falling by 266,000 in the prior two months, nearly reversing the effects of the second pandemic wave. The jobless rate fell a whopping 1.2 percentage points…
April 8, 2021, by Jordan Press, Canadian Press. The federal banking regulator is proposing increased requirements to the stress test facing homebuyers with uninsured mortgages as it looks ahead to a return to pre-pandemic financial conditions with higher interest rates. The proposal from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions would set the qualifying…
March 24, 2021, by Sean MacKay RBC Senior Economist Robert Hogue, wrote in a commentary that in the past six months the benchmark price of a Canadian single-family home has risen by $100,000. That’s a 15 percent increase in value in only half a year’s time, which ranks as the sharpest increase to the national…
March 24, 2021, by Grant Alexander Wilson According to the latest Statistics Canada data, the year-over-year inflation rate was 0.7%. Some experts are suggesting that inflation is currently underestimated. Demand for essential goods and services is high, as their prices are tracking above average. The current “basket of goods” in Canada’s consumer price index —…
March 19, 2021, by Daniel Johanis In today’s competitive mortgage market, low interest rates are advertised across the board, but while many lenders offer rock-bottom rates, it is imperative to review all of the terms and conditions in a mortgage contract before signing the dotted line. Sometimes the difference between lender A’s and lender B’s…
April 06, 2021, Press Releases The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 2,074 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area in March 2021. Real estate sales in Hamilton-Burlington were up 63% since last month and up 73.1% since March of last year. New listings were up 65% since last month and up…
March 12, 2021, by Shelly Hagan Canada’s labor market roared back to life in February after authorities began lifting lockdowns, a striking sign of the nation’s economic resilience to the second wave of the pandemic. According to a Statistics Canada report, the economy added 259,200 jobs in February, well ahead of expectations for a 75,000…
March 19, 2021, by Taylor Pipe At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people thought that the housing market would cool down. However, the coronavirus pandemic has done the exact opposite and caused house prices to soar amidst a lack of homes for sale. The pandemic has changed the landscape of real estate in…
March 05, 2021, by Sean MacKay In a research note published, Central 1 Credit Union Economist Edgard Navarrete wrote that Toronto’s average selling price remained above $1 million for the second month in a row in February. With interest rates expected to stay low for the foreseeable future and new listings struggling to keep pace…
February 12, 2021, by Neil Sharma Deposit Rocket, a nascent GTA-based company that operates countrywide, has stepped in as an alternative to conventional cash deposits and certified cheques, which risk delaying an offer on a home until it’s too late. The CEO of Deposit Rocker, Don Miller, said that the company allows the buyer to…
February 26, 2021, by Sean MacKay Prices for detached homes rose over 20% in every Toronto suburb in January. In some suburban towns, price appreciation measured as high as 58%. For the suburban 905 regions as a whole, detached home prices soared over 36% annually to an average price of $1,308,393. According to a 2021…
February 10, 2021, by Neil Sharma Altus Group estimates a 10-20% decline in the demand for downtown office space in Canada which could result in the extensive redevelopment of existing buildings for decidedly different purposes. “What you’ll see is potential for the repurposing of these buildings, where owners go for rezoning and some redevelopment into…
February 11, 2021, by Neil Sharma Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a work permit, valid for a three-year term, for Hong Kong residents who obtained post-secondary diplomas in Canada within the last five years. Additionally, the IRCC will ease entry restrictions, with the eventual goal of permanent residency, for Hong Kong residents who have…
February 08, 2021, by Neil Sharma According to nesto, an online mortgage brokerage, the appetite for homeownership in Canada has been strong to start the year thanks in large part to low interest rates. A report from the firm showed that 60% of the brokerage’s users intended to purchase a new home last month, increasing…
February 04, 2021, by Sean MacKay According to the National Bank of Canada’s Housing Affordability Monitor, it currently takes a household earning the country’s median income 60 months — or five years — at a savings rate of 10% to reach even the minimum downpayment on a typical Canadian home. What makes the current situation…
February 02, 2021, Press Releases The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 825 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area in January 2021. Real estate sales in Hamilton-Burlington were down 9.6% over last month, but up 6.9% over January of last year. The average price for residential properties was $787,840, which was…
January 26, 2021, by The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canada’s housing authority says retail, construction and services workers were the most common deferrers of mortgage payments in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. CMHC says the high numbers of deferrals correlated with data showing the retail, construction and service industries were hit with…
January 20, 2021, by Shelly Hagan The Bank of Canada is adopting a positive tone on the outlook for the nation’s economy, choosing to look past a weak start to 2021 as vaccine efforts accelerate. Policy makers led by Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy remains on a two-year timeline to fully repair damage from…
January 25, 2021, by Insauga News Reflecting the current housing market, rental prices in Hamilton have never been higher ($1,500 on average) and the market is extremely competitive. Finding good tenants is hard enough so most landlords who would rather not rent to pet owners include “no pet” clauses in their rental agreements to protect…
January 22, 2021, by Sean MacKay As the pandemic sent home buyers flocking to suburban areas across Canada, home builders responded by boosting the construction of detached homes. According to a new analysis from BMO Economist Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, this detached home building surge sent the average number of housing starts recorded in 2020 to a…
January 21, 2021, by Jessy Bains Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says house prices could fall 47.9% peak-to-trough with an unemployment rate of 25% in its worst case scenario. CMHC says without government intervention, its solvency and capitalization would be in question. Even with help, the agency says prices would fall 31.8% and the…
January 15, 2020, by Mira Miller According to the report on Canada’s population estimates, Toronto saw a record loss of 50,375 people between July 1, 2019, and July 1, 2020, as a result of more people moving out of the city to other regions rather than moving in. “The desire to live outside the largest…
December 29, 2020, by Shelly Hagan According to the weekly telephone polling by Nanos Research, Canadians are the most confident in more than three years that real estate prices will continue to rise, a positive signal for the recovery. 49.2% of respondents, see home prices climbing over the next six months, the highest share since…
December 21, 2020, by CBC News Hamilton city council has approved a $484.4 million gross capital budget for 2021, with an emphasis on transit, roads, bridges, sidewalks and traffic. The city release says the budget will also focus on affordable housing, the west harbour waterfront and the development of a business park near the airport.…
January 08, 2021, by Jessy Bains According to Statistics Canada, new COVID-19 lockdowns in the face of rising cases have broken Canada’s streak of employment gains, with a loss of 63,000 jobs in December. In December, 1.1 million Canadians worked fewer hours or were out of work — compared to 5.5. million in April. Over…
December 23, 2020, by The Canadian Press RBC analyst Paul Quinn said in a report that the prices for lumber and wood panels are up due to strong housing markets and limited capacity to increase North American production. Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, says the price volatility and shortage of supply…
December 01, 2020, by The Canadian Press Statistics Canada said the economy grew at a record annualized pace of 40.5% in the third quarter of 2020 as businesses came out of COVID-19 lockdowns. The previous record for quarterly growth in real gross domestic product was 13.2% in the first quarter of 1965, the agency said.…
January 05, 2021, Press Releases The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 913 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area in December 2020. Real estate sales in Hamilton-Burlington were down 25.95% over last month, but up 41.6% over December of last year. The average price for residential properties was $729,853, which was…
December 29, 2020, by The Canadian Press Consultants at the international consulting firm, BTY Group says it predicts construction costs will rise 3% to 5% in 2021 for Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, with lower spending levels in Alberta and Manitoba amid new restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. BTY estimates that construction costs in Saskatchewan…
December 4, 2020, by The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Canada’s working mothers saw their jobs gains stall in November after months of growth, and those who are working are seeing greater strains on their working hours to care for their children, Statistics Canada says. Elizabeth Dhuey, an associate professor of economics at the University of…
December 7, 2020, by Michelle McNally Health Canada is expected to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine in a matter of days. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will receive 249,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the end of the year. Three other potential vaccine candidates are also under consideration for approval,…
December 07, 2020, by Ross Lord Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal Lepage, says home prices are up about 10% this year — double the long-term average and the coronavirus pandemic is part of the reason. To the end of September, year-over-year home prices in recreational property markets soared, driven by “Canadians’ ability to…
December 04, 2020, by The Canadian Press Staff TORONTO — HSBC says it will offer rates below one per cent for some mortgages, which rate comparison website RateSpy.com says is a record low for Canada. The bank is advertising a 0.99 per cent rate on its website for new five-year variable closed term mortgages, with…
November 26, 2020, by Sean MacKay According to data published by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), housing starts for single-detached homes and semi-detached homes rose 14.2% and 29.4%, respectively, last month. TD Economist Rishi Sondhi said that the strong performance suggests that home builders are “reacting to the outperformance in detached home sales…
December 02, 2020, Press Releases The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1,233 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area in November 2020. Real estate sales in Hamilton-Burlington were down 24.12 % over last month, but up 17 % over November of last year. The average price for residential properties was $722,317,…
November 23, 2020, by Shelly Hagan Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle said in remarks via video conference to the Autorite des marches financiers that the signs of overwhelming financial strain are few, the risk of a wave of consumer defaults seems low and almost all of the households with expired debt deferrals have resumed repayments. He…
November 19, 2020, by Pamela Heaven A new report by the Institute of International Finance reveals that Canada saw the biggest jump in non-financial sector debt this year, beating Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. Overall, global debt has soared by over $15 trillion between January and September of this year, hitting a new record…
November 17, 2020, by Matthew Van Dongen The city will explore whether it can force landlords to test for radon in basement apartments after a study found dangerous levels of the cancer-causing gas in one in every seven Hamilton homes tested. The survey of nearly 300 homes has already triggered “radon mitigation” requirements for new…
November 10, 2020, by Don Mitchell Hamilton will now be one of Canada’s 14 FTZs and Ontario’s third port of entry for commercial merchandise, both domestic and foreign, reducing duties, tariffs and taxes on foreign imports and exports. Canada’s minister of economic development says Hamilton’s new designation as an official Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) point…
November 02, 2020, by Shelly Hagan Every week, Nanos Research surveys 250 Canadians for their views on personal finances, job security and their outlook for the economy and real estate prices. The telephone polling showed confidence in the Canadian housing market continues to boom, even as officials grapple with a resurgence of Covid-19 that’s slowing…
November 06, 2020, by Michelle McNally On October 30th, Canada’s government revealed its three-year plan to welcome 1.2 million immigrants to the country between 2021 and 2023. If the targets are met, the immigration boost will compensate for 2020’s drastically reduced numbers that came as a result of application and travel constraints caused by the…
November 03, 2020, by Canadian Press RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust’s veteran CEO said that the demand for space in prime office towers and shopping malls has plunged because the pandemic suddenly turned them into places that customers and tenants “don’t even want to go to.” “Unfortunately … everything that was accepted wisdom in the…
October 30, 2020, by Shelly Hagan and Erik Hertzberg Canada’s economy recorded what is likely its last strong months of growth in August and September, as the country braces for an end-of-year slowdown. Gross domestic product expanded 1.2 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. The agency also released a preliminary estimate…
October 27, 2020, by Nick Boisvert Khaleel Seivwright, a 28-year-old carpenter from Scarborough is building insulated, mobile shelters for homeless people this winter. The walls of the small wooden structures are lined with a thick layer of fibreglass insulation and have a door, a small casement window and spinning caster wheels at each corner of…
October 24, 2020, by Teviah Moro The city hopes to sell a public works yard on 125 Barton St. W. along with empty parcels on Burlington Street East and an old yard in Flamborough. The 125 Barton site — which includes a sprawling warehouse between Caroline and Bay — is home to public works’ facilities…
October 27, 2020, Anja Kundacina Prime minister Justin Trudeau announced $500 million to build affordable homes across Canada as part of a Rapid Housing Initiative, and Toronto is getting 40.67% of it. The goal will be to create 3,000 housing units across the country, and that the money is being given to areas with the…
November 3, 2020, Press Releases The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1,615 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area in October 2020. Real estate sales in Hamilton-Burlington were down 7.6% over last month and up 23.7% over October of last year. The average price for residential properties was $721,523, which was…
October 28, 2020, by Pete Evans The Bank of Canada says it has no plans to change its benchmark interest rate until inflation gets back to 2% and stays there, something it says isn’t likely to happen until 2023. The central bank said it has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.25%. …
October 24, 2020, by Radheyan Simonpillai The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) wants the provincial government to give home buyers a six-month holiday from the Ontario and Toronto Land Transfer Tax (LTT), along with other incentives it argues will stimulate Ontario’s economy during the COVID-19 crisis. “In the last economic downturn we had it was…
October 23, 2020, by Joey Coleman Hamilton City Hall is hopeful the provincial and federal governments will continue providing record levels of financial support to municipalities for transit, public health, and COVID costs to address budgetary pressures resulting from the pandemic. Based upon this presumption, City staff state the starting figure for the 2021 municipal…
October 14, 2020, by Ainsley Smith The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) announced new electricity prices for households and small businesses, which will become effective November 1, under the Regulated Price Plan (RPP). This means Ontario residents will have pricier electric bills, as fixed pricing is coming to an end. At the beginning of November, customers…
October 19, 2020, by Robin MacLennan Construction is underway on Ontario’s largest renewable natural gas facility – a project that showcases Ontario’s innovative energy sector while creating jobs in Niagara. The $42 million Niagara Falls Renewable Natural Gas plant will generate enough clean renewable energy from landfill waste to heat 8,750 homes across the country…
October 14, 2020, by Stephanie Hughes While the rate of mortgage deferrals in Canada remains in the double-digits, it has been on the decline in recent months, blunting concern of a looming ‘debt deferral cliff’. Data collected by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and made available to Yahoo Finance Canada show that deferrals…
October 13, 2020, by Ken Mann The city of Hamilton has officially surpassed $1 billion worth of construction activity for 2020, thanks to alternative service delivery options during the COVID-19 pandemic, including online building permits and virtual meetings with development applicants. Through Sept. 30, residential building activity accounts for almost 70 percent of this year’s…
September 30, 2020, by Sean MacKay Toronto and Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive rental markets, have seen the largest declines in monthly rent since the pandemic began impacting the market in March. In a note published by Capital Economics, firm economist Stephen Brown wrote that lower wage earners have been adversely affected by job losses since…
September 30, 2020, by Colin McClelland A Canadian real estate agency, Properly.ca is betting on artificial intelligence to alleviate the stress of buying a new home before selling an existing one. Properly uses computer models and market analysis to determine equity values, which can be combined with mortgage offers from Canada’s large five banks including…
September 15, 2020, by Kevin Orland Three of Canada’s six biggest banks said they expect most borrowers who took advantage of pandemic-related deferral programs to resume payments, countering fears of a sharp increase in impaired loans. Chief Executive Officer Brian Porter said in the statement that Scotiabank now has $39 billion (US$30 billion) of deferral…
September 25, 2020, by Samantha Craggs The city of Hamilton is looking at the possibility of modular homes, which are homes made in a factory, transported and rebuilt on site as a solution to Hamilton’s affordable housing crunch. Coun. Chad Collins (Ward 5, Centennial) says It’s a concept that’s worked in Vancouver and Toronto recently…
September 14, 2020, by Sean MacKay Researchers from Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Research (CUR) say that the trend of Millennials taking advantage of the low mortgage rates due to the pandemic’s economic impact to buy single-family suburban homes in the outer areas of the City of Toronto and surrounding GTA is weakening the condo…
September 23, 2020, by Special to Ontario Construction News The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp. has been criticized for the slow turnaround time on some of its national housing strategy programs, including by smaller housing providers who have complained about the reams of paperwork needed to access them. Some of that is unavoidable, said CMHC…
September 09, 2020, by Tracy Hanes A strategic alliance has been forged between the city, City Housing Hamilton (CHH) and Roxborough Park Inc. (RPI), a partnership of Urbancore Developments, Carriage Gate Homes and the Effort Group, to create a game-changing project in Hamilton. This project will transform 13 acres in the city’s east end into…
September 11, 2020 by Dan Taekema While Metrolinx says it plans to begin demolishing 21 vacant properties along Hamilton’s former LRT route “for safety’s sake”, advocates and tenants say vacant buildings should be turned into affordable housing. For its part, Metrolinx says the demolition is necessary given the “precarious state of the buildings” and the…
September 24, 2020 by Mark Buckshon For the next six months, the federal government is planning to spend $1 billion to provide shelters to the community so no one becomes homeless amid the pandemic. According to Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, the program will only take applications for projects to quickly build or buy units…
September 15, 2020 by Sean MacKay According to Canadian Real Estate Association Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart, it looks like the sales activity in September will not match the blistering pace seen in July and August, both record-breaking months for transactions. “Despite some record monthly highs and lows this year, with eight months now in the…
September 12, 2020 by Jordan Press In order to help the cities provide affordable housing, the Federal officials are finalizing the details of a program to help the cities in buying properties that were left vacant due to the pandemic. To avoid people from falling into homelessness heading into the winter with temporary shelter measures…
August 20, 2020 by Sean MacKay According to the most recent analysis on Toronto home sales, RBC Senior Economist Robert Hogue wrote that strong low-rise home sales in the city’s 905 suburban area “supports the notion the pandemic is driving more buyers to the suburbs.” Suburban areas of the GTA have recovered much faster than…
August 28, 2020 by Don Mitchell Rental prices in Hamilton, Ontario are going up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent data from rentals.ca says the average cost of a dwelling in Hamilton continued to rise year over year, with a single bedroom unit hitting $1,489 per month in July while the average two-bedroom cost $2,170. The…
September 9, 2020 by Amazon Canada An announcement was made by Amazon.com that they are planning to open two new fulfillment centres in Hamilton, Ontario and Ajax, Ontario creating more than 2,500 new full-time jobs in 2021. More than 1,500 employees will be working with the Amazon robotics to pick, pack and ship small items…
September 3, 2020 by Andrew Button There were reports that the biggest housing markets in Canada have been doing surprisingly well since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But before you get to excited, you should be aware that not everybody agrees with these forecasts. Ever since the pandemic began, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)…
September 3, 2020 by Ontario Construction News Staff Writer There are delays and price increases for residential builders and renovators because of the lumber shortage cause by COVID-19 according to the Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA). “There is an overwhelming demand for lumber due to strong continued sales in both Ontario and in the United…
September 2, 2020 by Press Releases 1,272 sales of residential properties has been reported by REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in August 2020. New listings are down 16.1 per cent over July 2020 and up 7.3 per cent over last August.…
August 25, 2020 by Ontario Construction News Staff Writer Experts’ thoughts are divided whether real estate will continue to boom or not for the next season after Canada’s housing market shattered records in July despite the economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic left people wishing for more space and amenities when they were…
Aug 25, 2020 by Sean MacKay There has been a staggering decline in new arrivals to Canada because of the pandemic going on. According to Senior Economist Andrew Agopsowicz’s research note from RBC, the visa applications had also fallen 80 percent during this period showing that “the slowdown could be lengthy.” The longer term impact…
August 27, 2020 by Ontario Construction News An announcement was made by Amazon that they are planning to build a new delivery station in Cambridge as part of their integral distribution chain. “I am delighted by Amazon’s decision, and confident that our community will be a great fit for the company,” said Cambridge Mayor Kathryn…
Aug 18, 2020 by Pamela Heaven According to BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic, during the pandemic recession, the performance of the housing market has been surprising. Based on the data that was shown last August 17, 2020, Canada’s housing market surged in sales at 26% beating the records in July. “In fact, this has shaped…
Starting out in real estate is daunting. There are legal contracts, large sums of money being negotiated, mortgages, and plenty of emotion throughout the whole process. Hearing how seasoned investors started out is helpful in many ways. You can learn from their mistakes. You get to see their emotional process in the beginning. And you…
August 5, 2020 By Ontario Construction News Staff Writer To support the homeless in Niagara Region, the Ontario government is investing $2.2 million to give them housing and support services. “Communities across the province are facing housing challenges, which have been heightened by COVID-19. Our government is proud to be working to ensure that every…
Aug 5, 2020 by Press Releases Compared to July last year, the sales for this year went up to 27.8 percent and 23.7 percent over last month. New listings are up 15.5 per cent over June 2020 and up 8.8 per cent over last July. The number of active listings for the month was down…
James Maggs is the team lead of the iWin Real Estate Team and has been an investor in many different strategies since 2009. One of those strategies being Student Rental investing! ______ With September rapidly approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to touch on what we are seeing with the Student Rental…
Jul 3, 2020 by Press Releases, Uncategorized As RAHB market area moves into stage 2 of reopening, the average sale price for single family properties within the entire RAHB market increased by 13.7 percent and its number of sales decreased by 0.2 percent compared to June 2019. RAHB market area also recorded an increase of…
Jul 29, 2020 By Sean MacKay Canada’s economic recovery from the pandemic supported by Canada’s housing market according to the recent report from TD. With the support of the encouraging momentum of the labour market and government support programs like CERB and CEWS, Canada’s economic recovery has been “most notable” in the housing and consumer…
What was the first real estate investment that you were ever introduced to? For many of you, it was pre-construction condominiums. The premise is to buy before construction finishes and competition bids up the price. Not a bad strategy, if you know what you’re doing. Like every other investment strategy available, many have been burned…
July 22, 2020 10:00 A.M. | Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing To provide Ontario the stability to rental market, the government created legislative changes, which are included in the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, to increase fines for unlawful evictions and reinforcing the necessity for landlords to explore repayment agreements before considering…
July 20, 2020 By Ontario Construction News Staff Writer On July 15, it was confirmed that a new highway 7 will be built to connect Guelph and Kitchener by the provincial government. “We heard loud and clear that a new Highway 7 has long been a top priority for local residents, therefore today’s commitment is…
All hail the Duplex Queen! 😉 Tammy DiTomaso, one of the lead real estate salespeople and investor coaches on the iWIN Real Estate team, helped her clients through 20 duplex conversions in 2019. She’s lovingly been dubbed the “Duplex Queen.” If you want real time data and info on duplex conversions as a real estate…
July 21, 2020 by Shelly Hagan After all the losses retailers had in March and April, Canadian retail sales have rebounded sharply making up almost all of their pandemic losses, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday. Canadian consumers are emerging from nationwide lockdowns with pent up demand and keen to spend according to the report. Policy makers…
July 20, 2020 by Ainsley Smith As realtors prepare to continue holding open houses, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) has released recommended guidelines in accordance to Ontario government’s framework as precautionary measures for the safety and health of the agents, their clients and the public. Realtors are still encouraged to continue conducting remote services,…
July 15, 2020 The Canadian economy is beginning to recover as it re-opens from the shutdowns expected to restrain the infection spread. With economic activity in the second quarter estimated to have been 15 percent underneath its level toward the end of 2019, this is the most profound decrease in monetary action since the Great…
Jul 09, 2020 : Pamela Heaven Taken from Posthaste: Slowing population growth will drag Canada’s housing market down for almost two years Canadian home price growth will slow in the second half of this year and gently decrease through the following year. This is the prediction from a new study done by TD Economics. Before…
Coming out of the COVID cooldown, markets are seeing more activity and higher prices all around. There were some restrictions placed on homebuyers that took effect July 1st, so we’ll have to wait until August to see what July’s trends look like. But so far, Canadians are still fairly confident that buying real estate is…
JULY 1, 2020 : By JOHN LORINC The motivation of LGA principal Janna Levitt, whose firm designed Stackt Market, a shipping container complex in downtown Toronto, was to build the small building, small prefab arts and recreation facility situated in the middle of an Etobicoke park, without overrunning the busy park with construction equipment. The…
June 25, 2020 : By Vanmala Subramaniam As of May 2020, the national home sales went as high as 57 percent from its previous month and the number of the newly listed properties went up to 69 percent according to the data of Canadian Real Estate Association. But CREA said “housing activity” (which includes both…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investor! While negotiating with another agent yesterday, he pushed me for a decision on some repairs needed on a property I had listed on my client’s property. My response was “it’s pretty hard to make a decision without quantifying the repairs.” My point is numbers drive decisions so lets have a…
John RoumanisFeatured Client Case Study John wanted to invest in real estate since he was 22 years old. Growing up in Toronto, he watched as housing prices shot past all expectations, easily topping the stock-market’s single-digit gains. However, things didn’t really start to happen until his mid-30’s, when he met Rock Star real estate agent Erwin…
Hello Real Estate Investor!! I hope you had a great summer! My wife and I just returned from a week in Vancouver and had an excellent time. We can see why Vancouver is consistently the most livable city in Canada with the city nestled in between ocean and mountains and rainforests and underrated beaches. Outdoor…
Hello Real Estate Investors! Who wants to golf?! Not me. Swinging golf clubs is tough on my shoulders as it’s repetitive, I swing way too hard, and I have no technique. It all started when John from podcast episode 6-years-part-time-and-600k-in-returns reached out asking if I wanted to golf and I responded, let’s do something fun…
Hello Real Estate Investors!! We’re back from vacation, a week at a friend’s cottage and I’m more tired than when I left!!! LOL Maybe I’m just getting old and soft but I suck when I don’t sleep in my own bed with my own pillow yet people invite us to go camping… my tolerance for…
We’ve been on quite a run lately!! Real Estate Agent of the Year 2017 by Canadian Real Estate Magazine, THREE members of the Mr Hamilton Team family were awarded as one of the Top Players for 2017…
In my opinion, sellers are looking to capture the gains in their homes thinking we may have peaked and the foreign buyer tax and new budget is the catalyst for home owners to take action.
A great question, and the first question I was asked by a reporter from Postmedia, so I figure I’d share my full answer as I get asked this question ALL THE TIME. To me, it’s an easy answer and it takes more than 60 seconds to explain, so I bore people before they excuse themselves from the conversation :P.
Here is an update on Hamilton’s light rail transit story. I was honoured to be asked by Founding Partner of R.E.I.N., Don Campbell to write a guest post for their members and followers
Thank you Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! This past weekend was the Investor Forum hosted by the Canadian Real Estate Wealth Magazine and what a great week
New Chinese money rules threaten tide of foreign buyers in Canada
I am pleased to announce our client Charles Wah AND our Mr Hamilton Team member Erika Spencer is a finalist for the Top Investor 2017 Awards
The average property in Hamilton went up almost $118,000 in just three years.
The average property price went up on average $3,300/ month
According to the CMHC: “For every 1 per cent increase in Toronto-area home prices, Hamilton sees a 1.4 per cent increase.”
“That marks the biggest increase since the survey began in 2011. And it’s a vast increase over 2015, when there were 195 new downtown jobs.”
One of my favourite authors Brian Tracy said “There are goals and all else is commentary.” On Jan 28th I will be teaching how I plan to achieve my goals
A few weeks ago, I was asked to be the guest co-host on Rogers TV on the Everyday Investor with Rav Toor Show.
Most of your questions are highly dependent on the specifics of a given parcel but I’ve given you some general ideas to think about. As mentioned in my presentation, this is just the tip of the iceberg for development. See below
“The Hamilton Economic Development Office is now pleased to share the news that a brand new interactive zoning tool is available for investors and brokers/realtors.”
Hello Everyone Real Estate Investing in Hamilton Ontario!! I hope you all had a great weekend!! We kicked off the weekend with a jam packed Mr. Hamilton’s Inner Circle Meeting on Saturday morning with some amazing guest speakers!! Hamilton real estate land developer, client, and friend Charles Wah stayed up all Friday night to make…
Please join us in welcoming, Erika Krista Spencer our newest Coach/Real Estate Agent and member of the Mr. Hamilton Team family.
This may be an oversight or unintended consequence, from what I’m hearing from mortgage insider friends, one of the rules changes applies to INSURED mortgages and most investors think, well I put 20% down…
Our Finance Minister made some important announcements that indirectly affect us Hamilton Real Estate investors so I figured I’d share my thoughts on the subject.
For my veteran clients, they laugh and smirk at the idea of NOT being able to buy a quality investment property in six weeks. For novices, including our friends and family who do NOT already invest, the challenge is comparable to climbing Mt. Everest accompanied by the same risks.
A third-quarter report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) on Wednesday said overvaluation in Hamilton was similar to that of Toronto’s property market.
This past Saturday was our monthly Mr. Hamilton’s Inner Circle meeting and thank you to the almost 50 people who took time out of their busy schedules to advance their learning about Hamilton real estate investing.
GoOntario is planning to bring new weekday GO rail service between the future Confederation GO Station in Hamilton and the Niagara Region starting in 2021, with service to Niagara Falls by 2023.
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Here I am, expecting a typical photo shoot where I pose with something Hamilton related in the background when the photographer, Glen Lowson for the Globe and Mail asked me about the subject of the article. I tell Glen that I partake in the occasional extreme activity to…
Hola from Jaco (Beach), Costa Rica My colleague and friend Carlo are on the Air Canada Rouge plane back to Toronto after 11 days of fun, relaxing, good food, lots of surfing, laughs and getting back to Pura Vida (Pure Life or it’s a way of life. It is a perspective to life that evokes…
Hola Everyone with real estate investments in Hamilton, Ontario!! I’m writing to you from a surfing vacation in Jaco, Costa Rica. It’s quite beautiful here. The people are super nice, the beach is OK, but the waves are great for surfing, I’m told. The cost of living is quite low, and I could definitely see…
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! I hope you all had a great weekend! I know we did along with 700 other attendees of the Real Estate Investment Networks annual ACRE/SOS weekend event. It was a busy weekend and it was so great to catch up and network with many investors. A…
No change to capital gains tax and a new HSR bus terminal within 800 meters of my son’s new house
“Do the thing you fear, and continue to do so. This is the quickest and surest way of all victory over fear.” — Dale Carnegie
IBM moving into Stelco tower, bringing jobs downtown Hamilton
“Amid a rout in global steel markets, the port that serves Canada’s steel town has found a new focus: food.”
Want Something Fun to do that gives back to the Hamilton community at the same time? Hamilton poised to rebound.
New federal mortgage rules requiring higher down payment for homes priced over $500,000 take effect Feb 15
Hamilton is the only housing market at risk of overheating, according a new CMHC report
One thing I think we can all agree on is people enjoy good food and one thing that makes Hamilton stand out is it’s booming food scene
For the most part, Metrolinks will be in charge of Hamilton’s future LRT. #Hamiltonrealestateinvesting
Forbes says only 8% of people achieve their new year’s resolution
When reflecting on 2015, I decided to text my Ex and Hamilton Real Estate to again Outperform other Markets
Different strategies yield different cash flow and appreciation. Which is better?
The Hamilton Basket Brigade – Christmas edition was a success: 200 families in need is bigger than any other brigade in Ontario and it was our smoothest as well to cap off an award winning 2015. New downpayment rules as expected are coming Feb 15th.
Do NOT make the same mistakes renovating a lower city house like this new investor did whe real estate investing in Hamilton
This is Hamilton’s the fifth time in the past six years the city has topped the $1-billion permit mark. The future of investment in Hamilton Real Estate
Just a quick note to say thank you for being part of an amazing 2015 that includes:
Hello Everyone with Hamilton Real Estate Investments!! What great weather we are having! I’m so grateful it’s still warm and sunny out as we installed our Christmas lights on the house this past weekend. I’m already deathly afraid of heights so no way I’m getting on an icy, snow covered roof, I’ll gladly pay someone else…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Many investors are solely focused on the economic fundamentals, stats, employment figures, cap rates, vacancy rate etc… That’s fine and all, however the truly sophisticated investors have an intimate understanding of their target neighbourhoods and city. To obtain that understanding, you have to know walkability and the area…
Hello everyone investing in Real Estate in Hamilton Ontario!! Christmas Basket Brigade is coming!! Save the date!! The morning of December 19th!!!! We’re still ironing out details. We’re on the look out for a location as we need a new bigger space since we’re helping so many families, thanks to the generosity of our donors and volunteers!…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! A couple weeks ago, James Maggs and I (Erwin) were guests of the Everyday Investors show with my old friend Rav Toor. Rav is a very interesting guy. A long time REIN member, Real Estate Broker, a minister, and he sold all his investment properties and his home so he…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments in Hamilton Ontario!! We hope you had a great Halloween as we did!! This past Halloween was special to us because this was Robin’s first time trick or treating and pumpkin carving, and Bruce’s first Halloween. The family dressed up in a theme of super heroes, Batman, Robin x…
Hello Everyone Investing in Real Estate in Hamilton Ontario!! Too bad about the Blue Jays falling to the excellent team of KC Royals. They beat us in every aspect of the game and I won’t be surprised if they win the World Series. Cherry, Bruce and I were lucky enough to attend game 4 of the Championship…
Hello Everyone Investing in Real Estate in Hamilton, Ontario!! Wow! A huge Blue Jays win and a Liberal majority government. My wife and I did vote last night (we hired a babysitter to do so and drove! How’s that for civic duty? ;)). I do follow a bit of politics, but I don’t like to…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate! Did you hear the latest?! The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.3% in August, largely a result of higher new home prices in Ontario. The census metropolitan area (CMA) of Hamilton recorded the largest price increase in August, up 0.8%. Builders cited market conditions as the primary reason for…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Great news! We exceeded our fundraising target of $12,000 to provide 150+ families in need with a Thanksgiving dinner this Saturday, Oct 10th, at Melrose United Church at 85 Stanley Ave, Hamilton, ON. This all started when I was donating, packing and delivering Thanksgiving dinners in Brampton for the…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments in Hamilton Ontario!! I imagine you’re all fielding questions on real estate investing in Hamilton from friends and relatives with national headlines talking about the Hamilton CMA up 13% on average from August last year to August 2015. Here’s the article in case you’ve been under a rock 😉…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments in Hamilton Ontario!! Every real estate investor needs a power team of professionals to execute on a successful investment. This past summer, our novice clients Alice and George did exactly that when they hired us, the Mr. Hamilton Team, to coach them on the acquisition of their first investment…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! As back to school is upon us, I [Erwin] dream about the days our kids go to University, Cherry and I take off for our own vacation, and I’m satisfied in knowing we’ve done everything we could to help them get there. I’ve personally decided that my daughter…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments in Hamilton Ontario!! Contrary to what some political leaders are saying, job growth in Hamilton is near the top in the province and the country!! Yes, Hamilton has lost 10’s of thousands of jobs in the steel sector with the demise of Stelco, but one only needs to look…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Ontario Real Estate!! Have you seen The Wolf of Wall Street yet? Pardon my (Erwin’s) tardiness if you already have. With young kids, we’re extremely behind on our Hollywood blockbuster movie watching. So far this summer, we’ve only seen Avengers 2 and we had to search for a theater as it was…
Hello Everyone with Hamilton Real Estate Investments!! We’re back from the cottage and a not so restful vacation. This was our third vacation as a parents, but first with five week old Bruce. I remember the old, childless days where I got reading done, brainstorming, returning from vacation full of ideas for our business and recharged.…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! I (Erwin) received the below question via email regarding last week’s post: My Stocks are up 60% and I’m not happy Hi Erwin I log in and read your blog regularly. Thank you for the info. Just wondering how you invest your RRSP’s into real estate? Also, are you really…
Hello Investors of Real Estate in Hamilton Ontario!! I’ve been busy like all of you are and, admittedly, I’ve neglected my portfolio of equities for close to two years. I didn’t even know my online login to manage them but thankfully, they’ve gone up 60% so you’d think I’d be happy, right? Well, I’m not! When…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!! We certainly did with the wonderful weather and off the charts guest speaker Donato Cascioli. Don bought his first investment property right out of high school at the age of 19 when interest rates were 8.5%!!! To do the math, a…
Hello Everyone with Hamilton Real Estate Investments!!! On Monday, I had this email waiting for me in my inbox from John, a regular client of mine. John has been buying a Hamilton investment property each year since I met him in 2011 and here’s what he wrote: I wanted to say “THANKS” to all of…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! Good news! Our son, Bruce, was born on July 2nd (30 minutes after Canada Day! I was literally watching fireworks from our window in the birthing ward of the hospital). Bruce and mom are well, Robin is acting like she already started her terrible twos. All in all, we’re adjusting to life…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investment Owners!! This past Saturday we had one of our best Mr. Hamilton Inner Circle meetings! The consistent feedback we get from our guest speakers is how sophisticated and experienced our attendees are. You see, many real estate investment clubs are “meetups” – they are open to the public and often…
Hello Everyone with real estate investment firms in HAMILTON!! Thank you to everyone at REIN for this past Saturday’s Proactive Property Management workshop! The event was excellent! Host Russell Westcott did not disappoint, Don Campbell as always was on point, and the guest speakers shared a wealth of knowledge on property management – from advertising…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investment Property in Hamilton, Ontario!! How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was fantastic! On Saturday, I met with a regular investor near Mohawk College then competed at our in-gym, partner Crossfit competition and won! The key was the more skilled, younger athletes were not available that day 😛 The competition was…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments in Hamilton, Ontario!! This past Saturday we hosted over 40 Hamilton real estate investors and one Durham investor named Quentin D’Sousa, a former teacher and now full time real estate investor who authors books on renovating and property management. Quentin is an expert on wrapping his investments into business…
Hello Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Did you make it to REIN’s ACRE? If you’ve never heard of it, ACRE stands for Authentic Canadian Real Estate systems hosted by the Real Estate Investment Network lead by best selling author and Canadian investor Don Campbell. This was my seventh ACRE I’ve attended in person plus the take…
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments in Hamilton Ontario! Would you believe a 100 year old house that “needs a lot of work done” managed to sell for $300,000 in the Stinson neighbourhood of central Hamilton as a Hamilton home owner sells house for $100 000 over asking? “A home on Grant Avenue was up for…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario!!! The City of Hamilton wants to help tenants buy a home in certain neighbourhoods, mostly in the lower city where they could use more investment and pride of ownership. You can read the whole article here and you can read my thoughts on the subject here in my latest…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario! Great turnout for last week’s Mr. Hamilton Inner Circle! Sorry if you missed our presentation on our tales from the trenches on strategies to win multiple offer scenarios. One investors even applied what she learned that morning to beat four other offers on a Hamilton investment property that afternoon! She did…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! 450 New Jobs are already pouring in to the downtown of Hamilton. One investor even messaged me how ecstatic he was to rent to an A+ tenant in his property on Locke St who is starting a job at McMaster University’s downtown health campus. Hundreds of students are expected to use…
Hello Real Estate Investors of Hamilton, Ontario! Hamilton Will Gain 13,000 New Jobs! You can read the full article here And I gave my thoughts about the 13,000 new jobs to Canadian Real Estate Magazine here so I don’t have to type it for you again 🙂 Pretty exciting stuff for you Hamilton investors who already…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!!! Congratulations to my client and friend Gillian Irving for the massive amount of action she took in the last two years to acquire five investment properties and for being featured in this month’s Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine in recognition of her accomplishment while holding down full time employment…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario (and surrounding areas)!!! Thank you to everyone who wrote in to nominate us for REIN’s most prestigious award!! This year is my third year as a finalist for the Michael Millenaar Memorial Leadership Award and here is the description from REIN’s website: The Michael Millenaar Memorial Leadership Award is…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Ontario (and surrounding areas)!!!!!!!!!! December is almost upon us, families are ramping up for Black Friday sales aka the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season. The snow is falling as is the temperature, hose bibs are shut off, safety salt is delivered to each of our properties, boot trays…
Hello real estate investors in Hamilton Ontario!! What a fabulous week to be an owner of real estate in Hamilton!!! Did you see CMHC’s outlook for the Hamilton real estate market? If no, then we haven’t been spending enough time together because I won’t shut up about it ever since we attended the CMHC Hamilton…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario!! Thanks to everyone who tuned into our monthly webinar last night!! For those that missed it, we covered “How to Inspect an Investment Property” where we touched on the more popular, money-making strategies and landmines in Hamilton investing. If you missed it, don’t worry, we’ll be hosting another webinar Nov…
Hello Investors of Hamilton Real Estate! I trust you’ve all enjoyed your summer!! I know many of you weren’t investing as August was a very quiet month for us yet somehow we still manage to fill the Mr. Hamilton Inner Circle Meetings! So thank you to all the devoted investors for taking the time out…
Hello Investors of Hamilton Real Estate! I hope you’ve all been enjoying your summer! I know our family has 🙂 This is our first summer with Robin and we all appreciate being able to spend more time outside until the dreaded cold comes back. Vacation wise, we took two weeks off at a cottage in…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Drink up Hamilton Investors! The vacant, former Lakeport Brewery in Hamilton’s north end, east of James and it’s 50,000 square foot facility will be back in business later this year. The former company best known for it’s “24 for $24” marketing was sold to Labatts and production was…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Ontario!! If you haven’t heard, Hamilton is the #2 Investment Town in Ontario, full press release here: Press Release – Top Ontario Investment Town – Hamilton In my conversation with Don R Campbell before April’s REIN meeting, Hamilton’s home values have gone up significantly (as Don had predicted when Hamilton…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate! I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did! This past weekend, the family and I attended the Real Estate Investment Network’s ACRE (Authentic Canadian Real Estate) weekend of training. ACRE was my seventh time attending the event and also my six year anniversary of…
Hello Everyone investing in Hamilton real estate!! This first quarter of 2014 is almost over and I hope you’ve all been taking massive action!!!! I know many of you have as these three months have been my busiest ever and it does not help when you have a new BABY!! Here’s Robin at the CN…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors and Happy New Year! (And happy new year to everyone celebrating the new lunar year!!) Thank to everyone who nominated me for the Michael Millenaar Memorial Award for Leadership!! To be nominated was a honour, to win was a complete and utter shock as I do not see myself in same…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate! Today is a great day and I’m sure you all breathed a sigh of relief when you heard that sanity prevailed and council made the right decision to vote NO to rental licensing where us good, ethical investors have to pay the price for what bad slumlords have…
Always push your limits. You never know what you can accomplish.
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Thanks for all the emails, tweets, texts, likes, comments, etc about my laser eye surgery last Friday!! I’m happy to report all is well. The operation itself is a bit awkward since someone is handling my eyes. I can put my own contact lenses in but other than…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! I trust you are all either on vacation, back from vacation, or preparing to go on vacation because you’ve worked hard to acquire, fill, and manage your investment properties so go a head and take some time off to recharge and come back stronger! Everytime we go away,…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! For those of you who already own a piece of Hamilton, I imagine you’re very happy with how your investments are doing (if you’re not, you’re doing something wrong because me and my clients are DAMN happy). Check out the latest stats from the Realtors Association of Hamilton…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors! Today is a good day as I am proud of the two organizations I belong to: Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) and the Hamilton District Apartment Association (HDAA) who have done some seriously excellent work in researching a solution to the City of Hamilton’s redundent, big government, proposal of rental…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! For this coming summer, I am strongly considering ditching the eye glasses and undergoing a laser eye correction surgery. As a precaution, my father insists I first consult with an Opthamalogist as to whether I would be a suitable candidate for the procedure. So I did make the drive all…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Ontario! Oh boy its been busy since our last post! We hosted February’s Mr. Hamilton’s Inner Circle member event and raised $200 for a Room to Read! We collected money and signed leases for four of our investment properties and one more vacancy to go! Good thing we don’t take…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton real estate! Great news! We have an exclusive listings on two CASH FLOW ZONE properties in downtown Hamilton, one of my favourite neighbourhoods for investment! Annual rents are 8.2% of the asking price so click here if you would like more details. Close to the Go Station, St. Joseph’s Hospital:…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Great seeing several of you at today’s Rock Star Inner Circle members’ event. It’s always great being in a room full of action takers and I always enjoy catching up with our clients. If you didn’t already know, we have the best clients. Last night, we got an…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! It’s been too long since I’ve seen my REIN friends as I had the misfortune of being in Thailand during December’s meeting. The night started at dinner with Margaret, Todor and Andrew Macdonald at an Indian restaurant just east of the conference center. We all got caught up on everyone’s…
Hello Real Estate Investors! Wow! What a great way to kick off 2013! The smiling faces of our successful clients and spending time with like minded folks who want the most in life: most return on their money and living life without regrets. What a great way to start the year!! This is so much…
Happy New Year Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! We at Team Mr. Hamilton hope you all had a wonderful holiday to de-stress, spend time with loved ones, vacation and most importantly reset to make 2013 the best year ever! I know we have! I’ll share with you what I did on vacation next week…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario! For those of you who are members of Mr. Hamilton’s REI Community, please save the date: January 5th. Lets kick off the year the right way! Celebrate successes from 2012 and look forward to achieving your investment goals in 2013. In case you are looking for inspiration on…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! FYI – I attended CMHC’s Hamilton Housing Outlook Seminar this morning and tweeted a bunch of useful tidbits. Click on the below images if you want to even more updates on real estate and #HamOnt (hash tag for Hamilton on twitter. See! you’re already an expert on twitter)…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton!! Unfortunately, I will be in Thailand on a beach somewhere when December 11th, the next planned meeting for the Planning Department to present its recommendations to the City Council. But I’m doing all I can do to oppose rental licensing and getting the word out!! But I will…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton!! Real estate investing and living for that matter is nothing with out having some fun along the way. You don’t have to wait till you own 10 properties or cashflow 5,000 per month to take some time our from your busy schedule for fun. From all the people I’ve met…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I know I certainly did even though my weekends are a wee different than the general population. But that’s what being a real estate investor is all about, we are different, the masses will not do what we do and that…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Hope you’re all doing wonderful in your lives and in your real estate. If you own property in Hamilton, there’s a 7.9% chance that you do. 7.9% increase in Hamilton average resale price that is!! For those of you who have already calculated, understood the risks and took…
Hello everyone investing in Hamilton real estate!! When news broke that city council will debate rental licensing (article here) my first thoughts were: This better make sense and not be a cash grab like Waterloo Cracking down on absentee landlords and slums is a good thing How are our properties in terms of Fire Code…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! For anyone investing in and around downtown, news that a brand new 55,000 square foot grocery store (something the downtown has been lacking) is coming to Jackson Square. Link to article. Now our current and future downtown tenants will be able to walk to buy groceries. This is…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton!! How has your summer been? Hope you’ve all taken some time to enjoy the warm weather outside, recharge your batteries, and learn something new. For my girlfriend and I, we took off for 11 days to Calgary for a friend’s wedding and made a vacation out of it. A…
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Hope you’re alll enjoying the early summer weather! With all this extra heat, I figured the market would cool since fewer people would want to look at property but that wasn’t the case….. Last Friday I was out previewing properties on my own and hit paydirt on the…
Hello Investors of Hamilton Real Estate!! Is Anyone else out there tired of having to defend investing in Hamilton? A novice investor from the GTA asked me on Saturday, “I heard the steel industry is dying in Hamilton so all the jobs a leaving,” a common sentiment for those without a geographic focus on Hamilton……
Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Are you a sophisticated investor? What does that mean to you and why is it important to be one? I’ll give you one little hint, sophisticated investors do deals and unless you do deals, you’re sitting on the sidelines. Sitting on the sidelines is something I have a…
Hello Everyone Investing In Hamilton Real Estate!! As the weather gets warmer and family/friend gatherings increase at BBQ cook outs, aunts and uncles, friends you haven’t seen in a while… the conversation always goes “So what is it you do?” To which I hope you’re all responding “I invest in real estate” And the inevitable…
Hello Everyone Real Estate Investing in Hamilton Ontario!! I’M BACK!! Back from a Carnival Cruise in the Western Carribean My favourite thing about getting away other than the great food, warm weather, visting new exotic locations, hitting the beach, zip lining, snorkelling reefs with tropical fishes, midnight buffets, water slides, sleeping in, no Black Berry,…
Hello to all real estate estate investors in Hamilton Ontario!! VACATION ALERT: while you read this, note that I’m far away somewhere in the Carribean on a big luxury cruise ship so please leave me some investment property for when I get back. Pretty Please!! Now back to your regularly scheduled post… That’s right! Invest…
Hello to All Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! The mild weather and lack of snow in Hamilton has led to many things: Me re-thinking the purchase of expensive winter tires Saving a bundle in heating my vacant house under renovation Not having to shovel my driveway once all winter thus far (knock on wood) Vacancies…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! In case you missed it and I know many of you have because you look surprised when I bring it up…. up to 1,900 jobs on the way to Hamilton in the north end. Click here for the article and here is my summary and analysis: 1.5 billion…
Hello Investors Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!! Boy oh boy are you investors keeping me busy! So busy that I’ve been planning this post since late 2011 when I attended the Hamilton CMCH 2012 Outlook Conference. On top of helping investors I’ve been busy selling my own house, buying another, renovating, dating my girlfriend, going…
Hello Real Estate Investors in the #1 Investment Town (aka Hamilton), ACRE is coming ACRE is coming!!! What is ACRE you say? It’s an acronym for Authentic CANADIAN Real Estate program and its coming this April on the luckiest day of the year, Friday the 13th (to 15th). This year marks my fifth consecutive ACRE…
Happy New Year to all of you investing in Hamilton Ontario!! Boy oh boy what a 2011 to look back on and even more importantly Hamilton’s 2012 to look forward to. I’ll be posting about the former and the latter later this month so this will actually be about planning your investments for 2012 but…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario! Did anyone happen to read the article in the Hamilton Spectator titled: Hamilton ownership gap windening for first-time buyers… Wow, is the glass ever half empty!?!? The article then leads off with “Hamilton’s housing market will lead the country next year — for some buyers.” and “Hamilton is…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Have you ever gone through a property and said “If only the bathroom were updated and the carpet were replaced with laminate, and yada yada yada, then this property would be perfect as an investment property” I know my investor clients have, especially the ones that are tight…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! You know I’m still surprised to speak to real estate investors who haven’t considered investing in Hamilton. Take for example my friend Michelle who lives in Markham (I know it’s a bit of a drive from Markham to Hamilton but no excuses, another client of mine has five…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Did you know 80% of Financial Advisers (aka mutual fund sales people) invest in real estate? What you say? 80%??! I thought the same thing when you consider how many people I know invest in mutual funds compared to real estate… How did I find out? Well, I…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Remember when I posted about Major Employers Coming?? Well I was driving on Stone Church near Pritchard with a REIN and RSIC member client and what did I see? A parking lot full of Bell service vehicles, somewhere around 40-60 of them and a large building behind it…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Good news! Last week, Canada Bread company opened its doors in the Red Hill Business Park!! Welcome to Hamilton Canada Bread and the 300 plus jobs that you bring!! Read the article here or keep reading for my summary and analysis: 385,000 square foot facility/bakery, the largest of…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! How was your weekend?!??! Here’s how mine went! (It was actually the weekend before but this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and blog :)) Friday: I have a fear of heights. Whenever I’m a few storeys up, I always peak over the edge and…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! I’m back!! Just in case you didn’t notice 🙂 I was away on vacation at a friend’s cottage for a week since August is historically a pretty quiet month (except for the exclusive listing near James North I signed and sold in 24 hrs right before leaving… life…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario!! Sorry for not posting for a few weeks but it has been a bit busy in these parts (and I write my own posts, no shadow writers here!!): Following my presentation at REIN in July, I have been just swamped with requests for more information on investing in…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Big thank you to REIN, Don, Russell, Patrick, Melanie, Alyssa and the whole REIN team for allowing me the opportunity to share with the Ontario REIN members my knowledge of Hamilton and the Hamilton Mountain. Thinking back, it was in January 2011 when Russell told me to fill…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton!! This will be a quick one… was typing this as an update on facebook but it was just too long… Anyways, here’s how today went… First meeting of the day is with a city planner to talk zoning and possible uses for a property that isn’t yet for sale. …
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! As some of you already know, I have a presentation on the topic of Hamilton at the Real Estate Investment Networks meeting on the July 7th. Sooo, I’ll be going underground for awhile to research and work on my presentation and unfortunately no regular post this week but…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Below is an email sent to Maria and I from one of my youngest clients but she’s also one of the biggest action takers. Here’s how her deal went down. I was out previewing properties including a for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) near James North and within 800 meters of the…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! The question that comes up time and time again is “how do I come up with the 20% downpayment?” and “What is Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and how does it work?” We have a couple HELOC’s, one each on our principal residence and our previous…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario! I’m registered for REIN™’s Multi-Family Investing Bootcamp on June 18 & 19 at the International Centre in Toronto. I heard great things about the event in Edmonton last year so there’s no way I’m missing this event when it’s just a short drive away. So without further…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! You wouldn’t believe it but the very same day Hamilton was named the #1 investment town in Ontario a real estate investor asked me “is it too late to invest in Hamilton?” Fortunately for the well informed (aka those who follow MrHamilton.ca) know about the bright future that…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Have you been to downtown Hamilton lately? Have people told you that’s an area to stay away from? Maybe you should go for a walk of downtown sometime soon with eyes wide open because there’s no way you can miss the signs of renewal. But don’t take…
Hello real estate investors in the #1 investment town in Ontario!! What? A stinky, dirty, dusty steel town is the top place to invest in Ontario? #3 overall in Canada?? Well it’s true according the REIN President Don R Campbell. Read the full article here. Here’s my summary and analysis: Hamilton was awarded the distinction…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario!! What is McMaster Innovation Park (MIP)? McMaster University has transformed some brownfields and warehouses into a research park, building on the University’s existing reputation as a research centre of excellence. This area and the surrounding area known as the “innovation district” will be the source of many advanced…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! Check out all the comments on my last post regarding the condo lofts developement in West Harbour! Steve Kulakowski from Core Urban Inc. was kind enough to comment on why they chose this site. Before the Hamilton market update, how is everyone doing? Me? It’s been pretty busy…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! Remember last week’s post when I was in Bayfront Park? If you missed it, here’s the post. If you’re not from Hamilton, don’t yet invest in Hamilton but are considering it, one of the hottest neighbourhoods is James North and the West Harbour. For those of you who had any…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors! I was early for a meeting at a new condo development in the Hamilton West Harbour so I went for a stroll in Bayfront Park and figured I would let you all know what a nice place the West Harbour is to both live or invest. If you don’t already…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors!! This week’s post was inspired by my one of my long time real estate investing buddies Todor Yordanov from Proact Investments. In Todor’s post titled “Why Real Estate is so POWERFUL – Attempt at explaining it” he tells his personal story in how his great-grandfather’s home, now a retail store,…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario! We have a special treat for you in the form of a guest post by my friend, client, and Hamilton real estate investor Neil Uttamsingh of FirstRentalProperty.com. As the headline states, this is all about fear and overcoming fear which all entrepreneurs must do on a regular basis. …
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario! Did you happen to catch my last post on the secret of townhouse condos? Check out the questions and comments by some experienced Hamilton investors including Jeff Varcoe himself from Corner Select Properties who took the time to respond to some questions as well. For this week’s post,…
…. that no one is talking about Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors, A client of mine who owns a townhouse condominium (THC) in Hamilton mentioned to me that in the same complex as his property, there are currently three vacancies. That’s a lot! (thankfully he already has a tenant on a 12 month lease) So…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario!! The image to the left is appropriate for a couple reasons: Melissa is returning today from a well deserved vacation in Punta Cana with her mother and I’m scrambling to clean the house and prepare a Valentine’s Dinner at home. Also, there are some newsworthy stories from the…
Hello real estate investors in Hamilton Ontario, Note the change in date for our regular monthly Hamilton Investors meeting. Have a great Super Bowl Sunday everyone!! Go Packers! Hamilton Investor Meeting 7pm, February 13th, 2011 Williams Coffee Pub, 2070 Appleby Line, Burlington Hope that helps! Till Next Time – Happy investing everyone! Erwin Szeto MrHamilton.ca…
Hello investors in Hamilton real estate, After a day of looking at multi family properties in the lower city of Hamilton with a new client, I was driving by the new, sold out subdivision a short distance from my house so I thought I’d stop to share some business lessons I’ve learned by shooting a…
Check out this 3 bedroom – 1 1/2 Storey home on the Hamilton Mountain spacious and updated kitchen with a built-in dishwasher and microwave lots of new windows have been upgraded roof, furnace and hot water tank all new as of 2008 deck and interlocking patio deep fenced backyard with a shed Did I mention…
Hello real estate investors in Hamilton, Ontario! I was at a real estate networking event recently where I was speaking to an investor who recently purchased a multi-family property on King St E in Hamilton, Ontario. I’m always excited to talk real estate, especially multi-family properties, and especially if its in Hamilton 🙂 The discussion…
Hello real estate investors in Hamilton, Ontario! If you haven’t had a chance to check out the recently renovated Hamilton Central Library you definitely should. It’s just more proof of the gentrification going on in downtown Hamilton. Check out this video I took while I was there on Thursday. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca4LJboNpDU That’s me and Maria my…
Hello real estate investors in Hamilton, Ontario! Two really positive stories to come out of Hamilton today! First, The city’s downtown core is adding jobs and residents — a total of 2,700 since 2001. More than 1,600 businesses now employ 23,400 people, making average salaries well above the city and provincial averages. Second, ArcelorMittal will…
Hello Hamilton real estate investors! Hands up if you saw this coming. Here’s the article from the Spec and here is an online chat with Mayor Bratina and Ti-Cats owner Bob Young from the National Post. Here are my takeaways and analysis: What just happened?! Of all the proposed stadium locations Aldershot in Burlington, Centennial…
Hello Hamilton real estate investors! Lots to cover in today’s post so bear with me! I often spend some time reading other blogs for my own personal development and as research for this blog. In doing so, I came across two excellent posts: 1. The first by my newest client, real estate educator and minor…
Happy new year Hamilton real estate investors! Great news! One of the best real estate investing blogs for beginners www.FirstRentalProperty.com named MrHamilton.ca as one of the Top 10 Blogs for Real Estate Investors in 2010. It truly is an honour to be mentioned along side the greatest minds in Canadian real estate investing: Tom and…
Happy New Year Hamilton Real Estate Investors! 2010 was a monster year for Hamilton and we are still many years away from seeing the “Steel” City’s complete transformation into an economical power house where everyone wants to live but we have seen many signs that corroborate Dalton McGuinty’s prediction that “the next 10 years belong…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors! Anyone out there want to know where the future Go Stations in Hamilton are going to go? If you don’t, I guess you’re not interested in getting higher rents of 10-16%…. I just happen to be so here’s the lastest: These are the stations that will be built as part…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors, Today’s post is not real estate related but instead one of my other passions: physical fitness and I felt I had to write this post after watching the trailer for Tim Ferriss’ new book, The 4-Hour Body. Now please don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Tim Ferriss fan and…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors, Today’s post is inspired by my clients Diane (REIN member) and Tania who recently purchased a Mr Hamilton’s Best Buy, signed a tenant, collected first & last month’s rent one week before closing at rent of 9% (annual, plus utilities) of purchase price and the tenants moved in 11 days…
And there is still one more month to go! Hello Hamilton real estate investors, Here’s a summary and my analysis of the article: 2010’s new record $1 billion in building permits surpasses the previous mark by about $200 million. Just under 50% is commercial and industrial > these structures will house permanent JOBS Driving factors:…
Hello Hamilton Real Estate Investors! As some of you know, I was helping Canadian Real Estate Magazine research Hamilton, Ontario for this January’s article about investing in Hamilton. They also asked that I contrbute what I believe are the top five tips for the Hamilton Investor and here they are (note: I’ve made some edits…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario, Please click here: CMHC_PPT_Slides to download an excellent CMHC presentation re: Ontario as a whole and the Hamilton region. Highlights and my analysis from the presentation: Ontario: Worst of the economic cycle is behind us The public’s uncertainty caused by the recession delayed people’s home purchasing decision US…
Please click on the below YouTube for my introduction to today’s post. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtjBq8ASafg&feature=player_embedded Hello real estate investors in Hamilton Ontario, For today’s post we have a special interview of a Marketing expert and Hamilton real estate investor Lisa Smart. According to Lisa, video and youtube are highly search engine optimized so I figured I would…
Hello Investors! Here are some “Glamour Shots” I had taken at Gore Park in downtown Hamilton by my friend and photographer extraordinaire Pat Tea. The pictures are for this website, Facebook and marketing in general. If you need a professional photographer, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Pat. Pat shoots a lot of high end events…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario, Click here to download the most recent report on the LRT from the city of Hamilton Ontario. The report explains key benefits of rapid transit including stimulating the economy, revitalization, improving quality of life, and environmental benefits. Here are some of the included maps: B-Line: highest priority, three…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario, I’ll be out scouting eight residential investment properties in Hamilton Ontario this Saturday starting around 9ish. On the docket are some small multi-family, properties with second suites and some in need of some TLC in areas of re gentrification and/or planned transportation improvements. If investments such as these…
Two Hamilton steel mills, and more than 100 jobs, shut down by U.S. Steel are being brought back to life by a new owner. Click here for the full article. Don’t have time to read the full article? Here are my takeaways: Max Aicher Inc. purchased two steel mills to manufacture steel for auto parts…
Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton Ontario, More good news! Joint Venture With Chinese Company Creating Up To 300 Jobs. Link to article here Don’t have time to read the article? Here are my takeaways: JNE Consulting and Chinese-based Daqo Group Co. Ltd., are building the $5 million project, expected to be completed within two…
No light-rail trains before Pan Am Games. Full article here No time to read the article? Here are my takeaways: there is simply too much planning, design, engineering, environmental study and construction work to complete and senior officials did not want roads torn up during the Games goal will now be to have all the…
Not just any other meeting! I got a copy of the presentation delivered last week regarding the LRT. I’ll post a link once I can find it online so for now, only my clients get to see the updated presentation and maps 🙂 I’ll post more once I’ve had sometime to sift through all the…
Hello Investors of Hamilton Ontario! Today’s post is a special one as I have been meaning to do this for sometime but there were other posts that needed to be written so this kept getting delayed, delayed, delayed, etc…. And Season II of the Jersey Shore has ended so I’ve freed up some time 🙂…
Ornge – Ontario’s air ambulance service will relocate its southern Ontario operations to a hanger at Hamilton International Airport. For the complete (short) article click here. The reasons for the move are: Toronto Island Airport does not allow for the expansion Ornge is looking for Pearson doesn’t not have the helicopter facilities plus the air…
Hello Real Estate Investors of Hamilton Ontario! Today’s post is inspired by my recent meeting with a writer from the Canadian Real Estate Magazine regarding an upcoming article on investing in Hamilton. At the meeting, the writer asked me many questions on investing and Hamilton and really they were no different from the questions I…
Wise words from my fellow Rock Star Coach Andrew Palhetas! Did you know you are likely the average of the five people you associate with the most? So for ambitious people like real estate investors, it makes sense to spend as much time as possible associating with like minded people and people who already have…
Hello investors of real estate in Hamilton Ontario! I hope there are more of you now after that excellent bus tour of Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (KWC) and more importantly Hamilton Ontario 🙂 This is how REIN positioned the field trip: How a Simple Luxury Bus Ride Can Help You Accomplish More In A Single Day For Your…
Hello Real Estate Investors of Hamilton Ontario, I’d like to introduce you to Andy who is a Rock Star of an investor. Why is he a Rock Star? Because he just gets it. He knows his stuff, he gets educated by being a REIN member and Rock Star Inner Circle client, he’s committed, he’s implementing…
U.S. Steel has announced it will shut down the plant’s remaining blast furnace in the City of Hamilton Monday and wouldn’t be starting it up again until “market conditions improved.” Link to article If you don’t have time to read the article, here are my takeaways: According to US Steel, shutting down the blast furnance…
Hello Investors, This is a fun post but I will mention what I learned about multi-family investing near the end so here goes! This past weekend, I took some time off to visit my friend Mark’s new house and new home gym in Toronto where I trained with some serious athletes. Clint benches a measley…
The Conference Board of Canada, a not-for-profit Canadian organization dedicated to researching and analyzing economic trends expects Hamilton’s economy to grow by 4.5% this year, the city’s strongest this decade. Read about the full article from the Hamilton Spectator here Too busy to read the whole article? Here are my takeaways: The city is on…
Looks like it’s going to be west of downtown and a brownfield but not the West Habour. Link to article Don’t have time to read the article? My Takeaways: It’s across the street from McMaster Innovation Park Accessible by the 403 w/ ample parking, both requirements of the Ti-Cats Sept 30, council will know if…
Good afternoon investors! I just spent all morning reading CRA documentation and calling them to figure out the step by step logistics. Here’s what I’ve found: I already wrote about how to calculate the rebates here Next question is who collects the rebate? The investor! According to CRA’s rules, if a new construction residential property…
Good morning readers! The most popular question I’ve been receiving is about the location of the proposed stadium so I thought I would post my thoughts to share with you all. My personal preference for the location of the new stadium would be the West Harbour location and its for many reasons. If you’ve been…
Good morning Hamilton Investors! The closing of the Hamilton Siemens plant is planned for next year in July. Click here to link to the article in the Hamilton Spectator Don’t have time to follow the story? Here are my takeaways: The reasons for closing the plants are: incentives from their new home in North Carolina…
Is anyone else having trouble understanding how to calculate HST on a new construction house intended as new rental housing? I’m working on a tenant first Rent-to-Own deal in Barrie (I know, it’s not Hamilton but they weren’t willing to commute from Hamilton to their jobs in Barrie, high paying jobs I might add) on…
Canada Bread Company is making its new home in the City of Hamilton, Ontario on the Mountain: link to article in the Hamilton Spectator Don’t have time to read the article? Here are my takeaways: Canada Bread company, a division of Maple Leaf Foods is consolidating and relocating three bakery plants to build one plant…
Hamilton is described in the ebook authored by REIN Canada (found here) as follows: “Hamilton Located in the ‘most densely populated corridor of economic activity in Canada’, the City of Hamilton is poised for continued growth. Known formerly as a hard‐working steel town, Hamilton has transformed itself into a diverse economy. A forward thinking government…
Tracking the LRT, link to article If you don’t have the time to read the article, here are my five takeaways: A consultant was hired to conduct a 3-million dollar planning, design and engineering study for a 16-kilometre, east-west track throught the downtown and write a preliminary design report. The preliminary design report will show…
The city has voted: West Harbour Wins the Day!! I can picture it now when watching the Pan Am games on television how the opening shots of Hamilton will be from the lake of a revitalized downtown and a brand new stadium all Hamiltonians can be proud of. A stadium they traveled to by taking…
